NBA highlights: Warriors enters playoffs

Highlights of NBA games played on Saturday.

Published : Feb 26, 2017 12:58 IST

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry celebrates after scoring against Brooklyn Nets.
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry celebrates after scoring against Brooklyn Nets.
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Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry celebrates after scoring against Brooklyn Nets.

Warriors 112, Nets 95

Golden State became the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot on Saturday night, riding 51 combined points from guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to a victory over Brooklyn. Curry capped a 10-0 run at the end of the second quarter with his fourth four-point play of the season, helping Golden State, playing without Kevin Durant for the first time this season, build a 62-51 halftime lead that set the stage for the club's 10th straight home win.

Durant sat out with a bruised left pinkie, suffered in Thursday's win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Warriors (49-9) earned its fifth consecutive post-season berth, the longest streak in franchise history since the Philadelphia Warriors had a six-year run in the 1940s and '50s.

Rockets 142, Timberwolves 130

James Harden paced a balanced scoring attack as the Houston Rockets set an NBA season record for 3-pointers while outscoring the Minnesota Timberwolves 142-130 on Saturday night at Toyota Center. Harden paired 24 points with 10 assists as Rockets (42-18) finished 22 of 58 from behind the arc. It marked its eighth game this season with at least 20 treys, breaking the mark set by the Golden State Warriors in 2015-16.

Harden finished 5 of 11 on 3s. Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon hit four treys each while posting 18 and 14 points, respectively. Trevor Ariza added three 3-pointers and 15 points. Nene and Lou Williams chipped in 11 and 17 points off the bench. Eight Rockets scored in double figures.

Heat 113, Pacers 95

Miami, taking advantage of a key ejection, continued its hot streak with a victory over Indiana at American Airlines Arena. Pacers All-Star forward Paul George was ejected after getting hit with his second technical foul with 8:49 left in the third period. He scored 10 points and grabbing one rebound in 19 minutes.

Miami won 16 of its past 18 games, getting a double-double from centre Hassan Whiteside, who had 22 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

Knicks 110, 76ers 109

Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points and hit the go-ahead jumper with three-tenths of a second remaining and New York survived a fourth-quarter collapse and escaped Madison Square Garden with a victory over Philadelphia. Knicks nearly blew a double-digit lead to Philadelphia for the second time this season, but this time Anthony hit the 11-footer from the left wing to give New York its final cushion.

Knicks needed Anthony's dramatic shot because it scored eight points in the final five and a half minutes and lost the lead on a short jumper by Jahlil Okafor with nine seconds remaining. Okafor's shot gave the 76ers a 109-108 lead and occurred after T.J. McConnell grabbed the offensive rebound of a blocked layup by Dario Saric.

Hornets 99, Kings 85

Frank Kaminsky scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Charlotte snapped a five-game losing streak. Kaminsky made 9 of 18 shots and canned five 3-pointers as Hornets won for the second time in 14 games. Former King Marco Belinelli added 13 points and six assists off the bench, and Nicolas Batum also added 13 points for Charlotte.

Kings played for the second time since trading DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans last Sunday. Ben McLemore scored 18 points to pace the Kings, but nobody else scored more than 12.

Magic 105, Hawks 86

Newly acquired forward Terrence Ross scored 24 points and Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead Orlando to a victory over Atlanta at the Amway Center. Ross, who was obtained from Toronto in a trade involving Serge Ibaka, hit 10 of 15 shots from the field and four of seven from 3-point range in just his second game in a Magic uniform.

The Magic snapped a two-game losing streak. Hawks lost its third consecutive game and never seriously challenged in the second half. It lost by 18 points at home to Miami on Friday.

Bulls 117, Cavaliers 99

Jimmy Butler had a triple-double and Dwyane Wade just missed one in Chicago's win over LeBron James-less Cleveland. Butler scored 18 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Wade added 20 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds with a potential 10th board ripped out of his hands by a team-mate in the closing seconds.

Bulls has won four straight and defeated the Cavs in all three games this season.

Mavericks 96, Pelicans 83

Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 and upstaged his newest team-mate in leading Dallas past New Orleans at American Airlines Center. Mavericks snapped a three-game losing streak in the Dallas debut of Nerlens Noel, the trade-deadline acquisition who's expected to be a building block for a franchise in transition.

That transition is coming whenever Nowitzki decides to hang in up. There's no rush, especially after nights like this. Nowitzki knocked down eight of 12 shots, including both tries from beyond the arc, and grabbed nine rebounds. The 19-year vet nearly had his second double-double in his last three games and is now just 67 points shy of 30,000 for his career.

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